Christmas Week

It's taken me several days to get happy with my new website. It's something I've been contemplating for years, but never could make the time to do it. I finally decided I needed to get my art inventory in order for two reasons. First, to help me get a handle on what I've accomplished for the past few years, and also to try to establish a marketing strategy. As most artists, I've avoided the process of marketing my work. Why? I think it stems from a fear that no one will want to buy what I produce. There's always a lack of confidence and worry about criticism, so I've just told myself that it doesn't matter if people appreciate what I do, I am just painting for myself - for the pure joy of creating. Maybe that's true, but I'd also like to see if all my hard work has any meaning.

In thinking about my next painting, I'm continuing on my series of "Women Who Have Guided Us On Our Path." I'm so inspired by the women I want to paint, but then again, will anyone else care? My next work will be of Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, the French resistance network leader, who amazingly controlled several thousand resistance agents in France during World War II. She was the only woman who had this role, was so brave and saved the lives of so many. In thinking about how I want to portray her, I've been looking at old photos of Paris during the German occupation, and that made me admire her even more. It would have been so terrifying to be surrounded by the enemy, to have been tracked and hunted by them, and to have ultimately survived after being captured on several occasions. I hope young women learn about Marie, hopefully my painting will remind us that standing up for and fighting for what you believe in is what separates us from those who try to control us.